http://eightball.fotopages.com/ ~a thoughtful daughter... ~a loving wife... ~a doting mom... ~a domestic diva in training...hehe Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:35:28 GMT Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:35:28 GMT http://www.fotopages.com/images/rss_logo.gif http://shw.fotopages.com/ 40 60 I can't believe I actually did a day trip to New York! :omg_no: but I'm not gonna stay home when everyone else is going!!! hehehe padahal I have less than 2 weeks to go before my due date. :-D We left VA around 7.30am and arrived in Manhattan around 11.30am..Our first stop was to take mama and mak adek to Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty. We were'nt sure whether they are still the boat rides to Ellis Island (where Lady Liberty is situated) and thought we might just go check it out. Unfortunately, upon reaching Battery Park, time tu lah nak hujan lebat! :annoyed: so we decided that it's best to just skip visiting Lady Liberty until next time...and proceed to Manhattan. Sampai je Manhattan, elok2 hujan pun berhenti! $-) Zaki dropped us off at the Apple Store opposite Central Park to look for parking...(parking susah kat Manhattan and mahal! that day itself it was around $60 for 3 hours!!! :-S more than that terus naik $100!) We went in the Apple Store, walked along 5th Avenue, passed Rockefeller Centre (Mama and Mak Adek went Crabtree & Evelyn shopping there!) ,went for our normal lunch at 49th Street and 6th Avenue, proceed to walk along Times Square...souvenir shopping..went in the biggest Toys R us for Hareth to get his Ratchet (kalau tak we'll never hear the end of it!), and lastly had coffee in Starbucks on 41st St and Broadway. By that time mama and mak adek dah tak larat nak jalan2 lagi! hehehehe so zaki went to get our ride and I told him to meet us few blocks away...(sebab jalan kat Broadway tu very very busy and usually cars are not allowed to stop there) We walked to 41st St and 6th Avenue and waited for him there coz the road is less busy. Baru nak ckp ngan zaki we're across the street where the park is, I realized it's Bryant Park!!! (for avid fans of Project Runway..u know what it is! :-> ) Tapi tak sempat nak take pics, zaki pun dah sampai...We quickly put our things in the van and I suggested that since we have more time, we could go back to Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty..but mama and mak adek dah tak larat nak jalan2..so they opt to stay in the car and pusing2 Manhattan one more time.. :-) We left NY around 5.30pm...stopped somewhere in New Jersey to solat (in an open field near the gas station!) and head back to VA. We reached home around 10pm and what can I say...I'm just glad that I still had the energy to jalan2 in NYC on a day trip and didn't go into labour in Times Square!!! LOL LOL LOL http://eightball.fotopages.com/?entry=1598545 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://eightball.fotopages.com/?entry=1590996 Sat, 21 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT For someone who initially did not want to buy too much and maybe scout around for the day, Mak Adek had finished her money ration for the week in two days!!!! LOL Don't blame her though..coz I went crazy with her and our hands were filled with bags, bags and more bags!!! (Mak Adek's justification: I'm buying this for my daughters as well... :-D ) Mama had her share of ooohs and aaaahs in the stores too! (tapi mama takleh beli byk2 coz takkan nak justify beli for her boys pulak kan? haha) Lucky us that we had a dinner invitation that nite, so we had to go back earlier and avoid more damage to our thinning pockets! hehehehe The lady in the Etienne Aigner even said.. "See u next month!!" when we were about to leave..to which i reply.. "errrr..I think u might see us sooner than that!" :P :P :P http://eightball.fotopages.com/?entry=1587608 Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT bWent to Woodbury Common Outlet in NY the next day...It's Memorial Day weekend so the place was packed! To get in the area pun the queue was longgggg...parking was scarce! However, since we've been there before, we know there's a valet parking somewhere for around $6! So, pusing2 lah cari valet...but heck, they know that the crowd will be big..so they hike up the price of the valet for another $2! Tapi takpe..$8 is fine enough..atleast we don't waste time waiting for ppl to go out. But some rather not part with their money and waited for some of the shoppers to go back..coz parking is actually free! Dah park tu, we went straight to the stores we want. My first stop was Lesportsac since the tokidoki line dah obsolete...so wishful thinker me was hoping that i might get whatever's left of the tokidoki but alas...it was sold out months ago!!!! :cry: :cry: :cry: nyesal giler masa last time i went i didn't get the knapsack, or else i would be very very happy with my collection. After that of course we went in the stores that's not in the outlet in our area...namely Ferragamo, Furla, Dior, Chanel etc..(sini byk high end brands) but of course lah..price pun still high end although a bit cheaper. Mind you though..the sales tax in NY is higher so we think twice bout buying what we don't need..(though we want so bad!!!) :P I think Afdal and family did a lot more shopping than we did. :-) Plus, being an employee of Wisma Putra and working with the Embassy, they get tax exemption on most things so cool eh? :-D My boys got new toys for themselves...Hareth bought two more transformers to add to his collection. Dzyad is camera crazy so we bought him a toy 'Lightning McQueen' cammie! Z bought me a new pair of converse for me to wear on our future trip to Florida insyaallah... :-) and ooh..a new pair of Adidas driving sneakers for himself...! $-) did i mention that he's 'sole' crazy??!!!! http://eightball.fotopages.com/?entry=1566245 Mon, 26 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Last year during Memorial Day we were in Illanois for the Midwest Games. This time around since i'm closed to 8 mths preggers and not allowed on board flights (it's a 13 hours drive so yeah..that is also not feasible!!!) so we plan to go down to NYC again just for the fun of it. (It's only bout 4 hours drive..cam gi Penang so not so bad..hehehe) :-D Kali ni pergi ngan a childhood friend of Z's..(their families have known each other for ages and they use to play together masa kecik2! :-> ) Afdal is the Second Secretary in the Malaysian Embassy in DC. So far since they came in December last year, they have not been anywhere out of DC yet and since Memorial Day weekend is a 3 day holiday, we made a quick trip to NYC and jalan2 Manhattan! ;-) 4 families pergi, but Faizal and Sarjan Samad decided to head to Virginia Beach instead, so tinggallah 2 families ni je...heheheh We left VA around 8.30pm on Friday (lepas the guys balik kerja) and head off to NYC. We stopped for a while to grab a quick dinner (courtesy of Afdal's lovely wifey, Salwa...who made a 'mean' coney dog sauce!! seriously!!! 8-) ) Orang lain had one each, I couldn't help but have 2!!! LOL Nanti nak kena belajar ngan cik Salwa ni...sedap cam A&W punya...no joke! Although the road was smooth all the way, we did take our own sweet time and end up reaching NYC at around 1am!!! But heck, it's the city that never sleeps right? and true enough at 1am u can still see ppl on the streets..macam baru kul braper je! Anyway, we crashed in Kak Nurul's house again in Queens. :-) (Thanx Kak Nurul!!!) but since the boys slept all most of the time during the journey, sampai je rumah Kak Nurul diorang tak nak tido!!! $-) Siap nak lompat2 lagi..and ooh, I forgot to mention that Afdal also have 2 boys!! so can u imagine the racket??! :-O Nak paksa tido nyer pasal, daddy kena bribe sape tido dpt toys! boleh dgr Hareth ckp dlm gelap to Dzyad "Adik...kita kena sleep! kalau tak esok tak dpt toy!!! LOL The next day we got up early, siap2...and took the subway from Forest Hills Station to Penn Station and walked around Manhattan..Z, our two boys and I, Afdal, his wife Salwa, her cousin Imah and their two boys. Our first stop was the area around Times Square. Masa ni takde gambar hape pun from moi coz I realized before boarding our subway that I've reminded myself byk2 kali not to forget the camera charger and the battery that I forgot to take the memory card from my laptop!!!!!!! :annoyed: I pestered Zaki to get a new memory card for me but the price in NYC is about $50 for 1GB nyer card!! Lepas jalan2 in Times Square, we've decided to grab a bite first..and mana lagi nak makan lunch if not at the halal pushcart in 6th Ave and 49th St. Kat sana we met Amri, and the guys from IBM who were actually on their way to Bermuda! Nak jadi citer..one of them is Z's friend, Saiful and another guy is also a childhood friend Abg Azri. He came with his lovely wife Kak Gee..(ni cam a company paid trip to Bermuda for them for being one of the best employees of IBM) I joked whether kak Gee had packed her bikini with her! :lol_crash: Then after saying our goodbyes..(they headed to Central Park and have to be in JFK at 3pm for their flight) we headed to Ground Zero coz Afdal nak tgk the area. I have never been there so sampai2 kat the WTC rupa2nya the construction work there dah start full force!! So they closed down the WTC Path where previously ppl can go down there (at Ground Zero itself) and take pictures! So now boleh tgk drpd luar the gated area je... $-) Zaki managed to go there last year and he actually did went on the Path itself, together with Rina and Sam. After Ground Zero, we proceeded to go to the Central Park Zoo by yellow cab! Coz penat sebenarnya nak turun naik subway and the guys had to carry the heavy strollers coz there's no escalator or elevator at the older subway stations! Our yellow cab driver was unfriendly and kinda rude actually..coz when Z told him that we want to go to Central Park and ask him to follow the cab infront (Afdal and family's cab) he said.. "Why should I? I know where Central Fark is!!" ( he did say Fark instead of Park!) :-P and sped off leaving Afdal's cab behind! and to make matters worse, he didn't switch on the aircond and I felt like I was sitting in an oven! and the road he wanted to follow was closed, so he had to make a big turn instead! By the time we reached Central Park, Z was already fuming..and more so after we discovered that we had to pay him $4 more than what Afdal paid his cab driver!! :annoyed: :annoyed: :annoyed: Upon entering the Central Park Zoo, I met a schoolmate of mind, Aina Zahari (who was the Head Prefect in BBGS mind you) at the entrance. She called me earlier saying that she's in NY..and remembered that I mentioned that I would too in my facebook! hehehe Kalau dia tak leave a msg on my phone, I would not have called her back! talk about rezeki nak jumpa...hehehehe She's working in Philly and has been in US for about 6-7 years dah. I have not met her since after SPM in 1996, around 11 years camtu! so it was good to see her and catch up. :-) aiyooo..tapi malu pun ada..coz dia Head Prefect..saya ni noti2 gitu kat sekolah. slalu break school rules..and can't help but make a quick detour in BB Plaza after school when we're not supposed to! hehehe Aina was actually on her way back to Philly when she called me. So since i called her back, she decided to wait for me and join us for a couple of hours before she heads back to Philly. We'll definitely pay her a visit in Philly one of these days or atleast she should come and lepak with me in DC kan Aina kan? ;-) Aaaah..what can I say about the zoo in Central Park...?? Don't go there!!! I mean...we had to fork out about $8 per adult..and $3 for Hareth..(budak2 below 3 years old tak payah bayar) but animals dia..my god! there's only polar bears, penguins, the seal, like some monkeys ..and i think that is it!! I mean, we didn't have to pay to get in the Washington Zoo and they have more animals! I jokingly said that "mana nak ada animals kat sini...kan semua dah end up in Madagascar!!!" LOL seriously, they were no lions, no giraffes, no reptiles, semua takde!! cam kena tipu pun ye jugak! But I guess, regardless, the boys enjoyed it and atleast the adults get to sit down and chit chat for a while. Kat Central Park baru teringat yg my iPhone boleh amik2 gambar so baru lah terhegeh2 nak snap pics of our trip!! Drpd jalan2 kat Times Square etc tak amik pics pun (except with Afdal's cammie) coz lupa bwk memory card! tu lah dah tua2 ni jadik pelupa langsung! :P After Central Park zoo, we walked down to 5th Avenue...bought food for dinner at 6th Avenue...and walked some more to the Rockefeller Center and back to Penn Station to catch our train to Queens. For pregnant ladies in their third trimester, I think Salwa and I did all right. :-D Dah last2 tu mmg penat..but it was fun nevertheless. I love walking and window shop and the weather was really forgiving. It wasn't hot and not too cold either. It was just nice. Tapi balik tu kaki dah start rasa sengal2. The next day gi Woodbury, I gave my ballet flats a miss and opt for my flip flops instead! LOL http://eightball.fotopages.com/?entry=1559745 Sat, 24 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT Fuzy took the day off just to bring my mom, uncle, auntie and sister around DC! (Thanx babes!) so jalan2 we did..At first we plan to go to the Washington Zoo since my uncle is an avid animal lover! (He used to work with Jabatan Perhilitan, and i remembered how we had so much fun playing with the animals he brought back e.g ungka, monyet, lotong (?), musang, helang, etc) Seriously!! I even remember vividly trying to feed the ungka a banana from outside his cage when I was small and instead of grabbing the banana, he grabbed my skirt instead!!! :-S apa lagi, terjerit2 lah lepas tu! I don't know who was more shocked! the Ungka or me!!! LOL Well, anyway..the parking to the zoo was full! (Who would have expect?! It was a Friday and not even school holidays!) so we end up just roaming around DC..and have lunch at Mehran's (courtesy of Fuzy! dah lah bwk jalan2, belanja makan lagi..heheheh) http://eightball.fotopages.com/?entry=1548212 Mon, 19 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://eightball.fotopages.com/?entry=1514207 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT Although at this time I was still jet lagged, i wouldn't want to miss out the preparation bit for the upcoming wedding in Vienna... :-) (yelah, time orang kawin2..the preparation part is one of the best parts betul tak? albeit the stress and all..hehehe) This time around, the Malaysian community (under Perwakilan DC) decided to 'meraikan' pengantin baru Chrome in Lyana when they come back to DC since they had their wedding in Malaysia and the DC community tak dpt tgk... and also to 'raikan' pasangan pengantin yg 'not so baru' Lynn and Yuzaimi since they got married in US and tak sempat2 lagi nak balik to bersanding in Malaysia. Nanti balik Malaysia mesti kena buat lagi!! heheheh best lah best dpt naik pelamin byk2 kali! Nak join!!! LOL Apa2pun the whole thing mmg meriah and I had a fab time! Looking at the pics, kakak2 yg bz buat persiapan pun had a time of their life! Betul2 cam nak menyambut menantu like dattttt... :-D Oooh, i think the guys had a marvellous time tu as the pics itself says a thousand words... :flowers: http://eightball.fotopages.com/?entry=1510118 Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT ~Diana with her friends... :-) ~her fiance and future husband to be...insyaallah.... ;-) ~Julie yg dtg jugak after her sister in law's wedding the same day... :-D http://eightball.fotopages.com/?entry=1491115 Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT ~Chrome's special pose for Zaki who missed his wedding since he's back in VA! ~with Kak Kin and Kak Ada...both are just the sweetest ppl I've met back in US! :-) http://eightball.fotopages.com/?entry=1483164 Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT